


Chasing

by Seastorm25 (RockStarFish)



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: (I don't understand why that isn't already a tag), (I feel really bad about that one), Family Issues, Gen, Gilbert Pronislav is a Bad Parent, Pre-Time Skip, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:07:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27097840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RockStarFish/pseuds/Seastorm25
Summary: Annette finally has an extremely brief encounter with her father.
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic & Gilbert Pronislav
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Chasing

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as a roleplay audition, so it's not incredibly substantial. I just figured I'd post it here, to... commemorate finally getting an AO3 account after like five years or so.

…Was that him!?

Annette ducked behind one of the cathedral pillars. Quickly, she peeked out the opposite side, though not quite quick enough to get another glance of her father.

She huffed in mild frustration, stepping out and into the center of the cathedral. Father was so tall, and he wore these long, swishy robes, with armour underneath. How did he manage to elude her like this every single time she spotted him?

It _was_ the middle of the day, Annette had to note, looking around at all the churchgoers giving their thoughts to the Goddess. Maybe he’d managed to blend into the crowd somehow.

Continuing to wander through the cathedral, she saw no sign of him praying in front of the statues, nor seated at the pews. A part of her knew this was probably pointless—after all, her father had even changed his _name_ just to disguise himself a bit more. However, he hadn’t changed his appearance one bit, save for the uniform he wore. And every time they encountered each other, he looked at her, even if just for a second. The fact that he acknowledged her at all was proof that he thought about her; that he may even have wanted to approach her, yet he held himself back. That was why Annette still believed that if she was persistent enough, he would eventually give her a chance. He _had_ to.

She glanced behind her at the people again, thinking. She didn’t need anything else in the cathedral, so she could afford to continue on to the gates to see if Father had left.

Hastening her steps, she exited the grand doors, sparing a wave for the guard.. If her father was outside, he had to be halfway across the bridge by now.

As it turned out, he had hardly made it down the stairs outside the gate.

_“Father!”_ Annette called, breaking into a run. She allowed herself a smidge of hope—she was in her Academy uniform, and he was wearing all of his armour. There was no way he could get away!

He didn’t stop, but he glanced back at her, only for a moment. Her desperation must have been radiating from her. Annette just needed to make it down the steps. Father was _right there—_

“Augh!”

Maybe she missed a step and wasn’t able to recover. Maybe she made the step but had too much of her foot in the air to balance her weight. It didn’t matter either way, because now, Annette was tumbling down. Each bump turned her sideways and continued to knock the breath from her lungs. By the time she was finally at the bottom, she was panting harshly, and there was no telling up from down.

For several long moments, Annette lay there on her side, gasping and staring at the stone walkway.

Eventually she managed to sit up, blinking dazedly. Her father was probably taking the opportunity to leave. But if she recovered quickly enough, she could catch up again…!

However, before Annette could stand on her own, she felt someone else’s hands tucking themselves under her arms and hoisting her onto her feet. For a moment she was frozen in shock at being handled without so much as a breath; the person was still behind her, close enough to realise she knew his scent.

Annette lowered her arms so she would be released, before spinning around. “F-Father?”

He gave her a nod and began to walk away again, retreating into the cathedral.

It was clear, then, that Father was avoiding her on purpose.

Annette raised her arm towards him. If she had taken a few steps forward, her fingers might have brushed his shoulder. She hadn’t grown much in the years he was gone, however, the difference between them in height was noticeably smaller than before. That realisation poked at a wound that she thought had closed long ago.

Maybe… he simply wasn’t ready to talk to her, yet. Perhaps later, sometime, she could catch him alone, rather than in the crowded cathedral, and he would be more willing to speak to her. She at least needed to convince him to send a letter to Mother.

She would have to give this up today, but she wasn’t going to relinquish her hope entirely.

Annette sighed, wiping some of the dirt from her tumble off her cheek. Turning, she walked across the bridge towards the monastery; the opposite direction from her father.


End file.
